DU hasn’t won a Sumit League Conference Tournament game since the 2018-2019 season and has not qualified for two conference tournaments since that time. This season’s first-round match-up has #7 seed DU against #2 seed UMKC. It will be no easy task for the Pioneers in Sioux Falls, South Dakota as they face what many are calling the hottest team in the Summit League. The Roos dominated DU in their two previous meetings this season – 85-71 in Kansas City and 84-69 in Denver.
Can Denver get off the schneid? Here are five ways that DU can do it:
- Tommy Bruner spent all season battling for the NCAA scoring title with 24.5 points per game. Tournament games do not count for the NCAA scoring title so Tommy and the Denver team need to move to a more balanced scoring approach. The ideal stat line for Bruner against UMKC is 16 to 18 points and 6 to 8 assists. UMKC will focus on Bruner exclusively so other DU players must step up.
- Scoring dense has been an issue all year. Denver finished #348th/351 in scoring defense (And yes, Denver can score in bunches as well). Getting stops in the Summit League Tournament will be at a premium. Covering the three-point shot, protecting the paint, rebounding, and switches will be critical. Denver’s must play hard on the defensive end, especially against an athletic team like UMKC. Denver must pressure their perimeter players, Jamar Brown and Tyler Andrews, especially on the offensive end.
- DU’s veteran leaders must step up, especially Touko Tainamo, Jaxon Brenchley, and Pedro Lopez Sanvicente must control both ends of the floor in the paint. DU has had its ups and downs during the regular season but these veterans must play to form in Sioux Falls to garner a win against UMKC.
- The Roos are 10-6 in Summit League regular season conference play – good but not unbeatable. DU does not need to play hero ball, just solid, error-free basketball. Denver has been vulnerable with slow starts and inconsistent play in the last several minutes of halves. Denver’s must be ready from the get-go and avoid poor periods of inconsistent play, especially at the end of halves.
- In today’s NCAA hoops, the team that is the most productive and efficient (40%+) shooting beyond the arc at making the three-point shot has the decided edge. Effective three-point shooting is often the difference in games. UMKC has only hit 25% of their three-point shots (9/36) against DU. If Denver’s Isaiah Addo-Ankrah, DeAndre Craig, Tommy Bruner and Jaxon Brenchley can find the range from downtown, this could well make the difference in the outcome Saturday night.
Fans watching in the Denver area are welcome to join DU basketball fans at The Basketball Social House for a watch party. 7:30 pm MT on Saturday night.
Photo courtesy of University of Denver Athletics
Tourney ball is all about maximizing opportunity at each end. If DU can step up and make their defensive stops, they have a decent chance to advance, since they can score from anywhere. But will they make those defensive stops?
The stats say that they likely won’t.
Unfortunately, DU is one of the worst defensive teams in college basketball this season, at least by the stats. I’ve watched college basketball for decades as a fan, and while I am not all a basketball coach, I do feel like I’ve watched enough hoops to know a good college defense from a poor one.
My take is that the Pios have decent enough athletes (pretty much as good as any team in the Summit), and they seem to be smartly-coached, as evidenced by the solid spacing, team awareness and set-up on on most defensive sets. They also usually play with a solid energy level and there seems to be pretty good communications on the floor — the players all know about all about gaps, rotations and switches, and it’s evident that they’ve absorbed what is taught to them in the pre-scout about opposing tactics, capabilities and tendencies.
But why the poor team defensive results?
Clearly, the energy and preparation levels do not seem to translate to the higher level of defensive intensity that can make defensive stops with consistency. In college hoops, good defense is more than just reading (and reacting) well to the opponent’s play – it’s all about being able to being able to anticipate all the options and then impose themselves, as a group, on the opposition.
I am sure the DU coaches see this anticipation-to-imposition gap too, and are trying everything they can to improve the results, but the stats don’t lie.
Something has to change…